Quick Verdict
Choose MinuteKeep if you:
- ✓ Need past-year minute books and backfilling for years with missing records
- ✓ Have a professional corporation (dental, medical, law, accounting)
- ✓ Manage holdco/opco structures requiring ISC look-through
- ✓ Want Word (.docx) format as a standard — not a premium add-on
- ✓ Operate in multiple provinces and need consistent multi-jurisdiction support
- ✓ Want the most legally detailed documents at the lowest annual price
MinuteBox may suit you if you:
- → Want a platform used widely by Canadian law firms as practice management software
- → Are a legal professional managing many client files in one place
- → Need built-in minute book storage and client management alongside document generation
Head-to-Head Comparison
| Feature | MinuteKeep | MinuteBox |
|---|---|---|
| Documents | ||
| Full minute book (all required docs) | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| PDF format | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Word (.docx) format — editable | ✓ Yes, always included | ~ Varies by plan |
| Past-year minute books (backfill) | ✓ Yes, any past year | ✗ Not supported |
| ISC register (auto-generated) | ✓ Yes, with look-through | ~ Basic register |
| ISC look-through for holdco structures | ✓ Automatic | ✗ Manual |
| Annual resolutions (auto-generated) | ✓ Yes, auto-scheduled | ✓ Yes |
| Professional corporation support | ✓ Full support (Ontario PCs) | ~ Limited |
| Uncertificated shares | ✓ Yes | ~ Not confirmed |
| Dividend resolutions | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Jurisdictions | ||
| Federal CBCA | ✓ Full support | ✓ Full support |
| Ontario (OBCA) | ✓ Full support | ✓ Full support |
| British Columbia | ✓ Supported | ✓ Supported |
| Alberta | ✓ Supported | ✓ Supported |
| Target User & Pricing | ||
| Primary target user | Business owners, accountants | Law firms, legal professionals |
| Self-serve (no law firm needed) | ✓ Yes, fully self-serve | ~ Primarily lawyer-mediated |
| Free tier | ✓ First resolution free | ✗ No free tier |
| Full access pricing | $99 CAD/yr per corp | $50–$200+ CAD/mo (firm pricing) |
| No law firm intermediary required | ✓ Yes | ✗ Typically lawyer-administered |
Comparison based on publicly available information as of July 2026. Feature sets change — verify current capabilities directly with each vendor before purchasing.
Where MinuteKeep Wins
Built for business owners, not just law firms
MinuteBox is primarily a practice management tool for law firms — it's designed to help lawyers manage client minute books at scale. MinuteKeep is designed for the business owner or accountant who wants to produce legally complete minute book documents without a lawyer as the intermediary. You sign up, answer a few questions about your corporation, and download your documents. No law firm subscription required.
Past-year backfilling
MinuteKeep Pro can generate a complete minute book as it stood at the end of any previous fiscal year — directors, officers, shareholders, resolutions, and certificates reflecting exactly who was in each role at that year-end. This is the single most important feature for catching up on years of missing records, and MinuteBox does not offer it. If you have a corporation whose minute book has never been kept or hasn't been touched in years, MinuteKeep is the only self-serve tool that handles this.
ISC look-through for holdco structures
When a holding company owns shares in an operating company, the ISC register for the operating company must look through the corporate shareholder to identify the ultimate human beneficial owners. MinuteKeep handles this automatically when both corporations are in the same account. Most platforms — including MinuteBox for self-serve users — require manual entry of this information without the look-through logic.
Professional corporation compliance
MinuteKeep fully supports Ontario professional corporations — dental PCs, medical PCs, law PCs, accounting PCs — including the restricted share structure requirements where voting shares must be held only by the licensed professional. This is a distinct legal compliance requirement that most generic minute book tools handle inadequately or not at all.
Dramatically lower price for individuals and small businesses
MinuteBox is priced for law firms managing dozens to hundreds of client matters. For a single corporation owner or an accountant with a handful of clients, MinuteKeep at $99 CAD/yr per corporation is a fraction of the cost of a law firm MinuteBox subscription — and you get the same legally complete documents without the intermediary markup.
Where MinuteBox Wins
Law firm practice management
If you are a lawyer or paralegal managing many client minute books as part of a broader legal practice, MinuteBox offers client management features, file storage, and workflow tools designed for law firm operations. MinuteKeep doesn't have this — it's designed for the corporation owner managing their own records, not for a law firm managing 500 client files.
Established track record with legal professionals
MinuteBox has significant adoption among Canadian law firms and has been used for corporate record-keeping in legal practice contexts for years. If your accountant or lawyer specifically uses MinuteBox for their practice, there may be a workflow advantage to using the same platform they're already familiar with.
Already have a MinuteBox account? Here's how to switch
If your lawyer set up your minute book in MinuteBox and you now want direct access to your own records, MinuteKeep can regenerate your complete minute book from your corporation details. Import directly from the federal ISED registry or enter your information manually. Most users are up and running in under 10 minutes and can generate all past-year records they need immediately.
Try MinuteKeep Free →Common Questions
Is MinuteKeep or MinuteBox cheaper?
For individual corporations and small businesses, MinuteKeep is significantly cheaper — $99 CAD/yr per corporation vs. MinuteBox's firm-level pricing which starts at $50–$200+/month for a law practice subscription. If you're a solo business owner or managing a handful of corporations, there's no reason to pay firm pricing.
Can I access MinuteBox without going through a lawyer?
MinuteBox is marketed primarily to legal professionals. Individual business owners can use it, but the onboarding and pricing structure is designed for law firms. MinuteKeep is designed from the ground up for the business owner who wants direct, self-serve access to legally complete minute book documents.
Do both tools support the ISC register?
Both generate an ISC register. The difference is in holdco look-through: when a holding company owns shares in an operating company, the operating company's ISC register must identify the ultimate human owners — not just list the holdco. MinuteKeep handles this automatically using the data already in your account. Most other tools require you to manually enter and verify this yourself.
Are MinuteKeep documents as legally valid as MinuteBox documents?
Yes. MinuteKeep was built by an Ontario lawyer and the documents reflect the same legal standards as those produced by law firms. Both platforms generate documents that satisfy the requirements of the CBCA and provincial corporate statutes. The legal validity of a minute book document depends on its content, not which software generated it.